Those plastic ketchup bottles don't have to be thrown away anymore.

They can now be recycled at the Council Bluffs Recycling Center.

Same thing for those plastic grocery bags.

In fact, the recycling center is now able to accept every kind of plastic from type 1 through 7, except for Styrofoam items, city Health Director Donn Dierks said.

Up until now, the center only took plastic type 1, like water bottles, and clear type 2, such as milk bottles, and colored type 2, like detergent bottles.

And, they had to be separated from one another.

"The contract with the processor that we go through now allows us to mix plastics together to save on labor costs," Dierks said. "Now, we can take every type of plastics, numbers 1 through 7, except for Styrofoam items, and it can be mixed together. It allows us to take products we didn't take in the past. We can save on labor costs, and it increases the amount of tonnage we can now recycle. It's a plus-plus for us."

The more that can be recycled, the more money the center makes, he said.

Dierks requests that all plastics be cleaned and rinsed, as in the past, before being dropped into the bins at the center or in various locations around the city, including grocery store parking lots.

Things are easier for recycling paper, also, he said.

Magazines and junk mail can now be placed together with newspapers, unlike the past when they had to be separated. And, cereal boxes or pop or beer containers can now be placed with the bigger cardboard recyclables. Brown sacks can also be placed with the cardboard boxes.

Not only does the center make more money with more items recycled, Dierks said, but also landfills last longer, which allows cities to save money from purchasing landfill space less often.

"The more that goes through the recycling center, the better," Dierks said.

The recycling center is located at 4441 Gifford Road, just south of the South Omaha Bridge Road.